Driver blows over .08 but avoids jail time for fatal crash

A Metro Vancouver man who blew over the limit following a crash that killed a young man has avoided jail time, and instead been handed a $2,000 fine and two-year driving prohibition.

Matthew Beaver, 25, was struck and killed while he was walking home along on the Lougheed Highway in Burnaby, B.C., in September 2011

John Bradley Davidson, 63, was convicted of driving his pick-up with a blood alcohol content over 80 milligrams, but a provincial court judge felt there wasn't enough evidence to prove Davis was driving impaired.

On Friday outside the courthouse in Vancouver, Beaver's mother, Sue Simmons says it's a decision she is struggling to accept.

"Us as people have to accept that, and go through what we just went through — over a year and a half of sheer torture knowing that he's never going to held accountable for killing my son," said Simmons after the sentence was handed down.

"That's what it is — torture. No one has taken responsible for Matthew not being here."

The court heard Davidson had a history of driving suspensions for exceeding the blood alcohol limit and refusing a breath sample.